Cortana allegedly launching in China on July 30

Last week, we reported that Microsoft is close to launching Cortana in the UK and China, with a release scheduled for later this month. While no official date was provided by Microsoft, we are now hearing that the voice assistant will make its debut in China on July 30.

According to invites sent out to the Chinese media, Microsoft will be hosting a Cortana launch event in Beijing next week. The invitation for the event includes a Windows Phone placard with Cortana logo and the words "China, here I come" underneath.

Along with China, Microsoft is scheduled to bring the voice assistant to users in the UK. Before you guys inevitably ask us as to when Cortana will hit India, all that we know regarding the matter is that there is no launch date yet, and that Microsoft is actively working on bringing the service to customers in the subcontinent soon.

Users from the UK and China, are you excited about the imminent launch of Cortana in your country?

According to computer,Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer, but how Microsoft does it first for China & then India??? Microsoft you just do partially ?? You LL go to hell unless you leave this type nature. Mind it , mobile platform is just like a dustbin which many Indians keeping alive without owning a google phone by doing a sacrifice, and you nonsense reward them with such partiality. Shame shame ....

Need Cortana as soon as possible here in India.. Yes she understands 9 out of 10 times.. But she has a problem with pronouncing and understanding Indian names.. So using people specific reminders is an irritating task.. Hope it comes soon.. May be around December..

Still waiting in Australia. Although I could change my region to UK when it launches that doesn't help the billing issues that occur with the app store. Oh well we're used to getting screwed over in Australia by receiving things last or at greatly inflated prices.

An article on here the other day said Cortana will hit the UK first followed shortly by China so fingers crossed. But I wonder how we will get it, after all Cortana is already built in on the preview its just hidden due to regional settings. With Cortana being server based there is no need for an update on our phone. So will it just appear when the switch is flicked on the server?

Good. All I wanted to know is whether Microsoft is actively working to bring Cortana to India. It is, so I am content to wait. I hope by the time it comes here, it will be updated in a comprehensive manner leaving aside some bugs, which will inevitably creep in while using it for local content.

I changed my region to U.S. to try out Cortana and then back again fairly soon afterwards. I can understand why some people are excited but I suspect I'm just not the sort of guy who talks to his phone without there being a person on the other end of it. In summary, then, "meh".

I love the fact people are assuming that this will be coming to the UK at the same time. There is no mention of it that they must be released at the same time in the report apart from that both countries are due soon.

Please read the whole article... Omg...
By the way, yes, you have a lot of Windows Phone users, but remember Cortana is also here to get more NEW people to use WP... Indian people is already aware of how great the OS is ;-)

being a wp fan it is depressing if the backend service for bing isn't in place in Australia. I can live with the app gap (I have an iPhone as well and the app gap doesn't exist for me personally) but the backend services is the realisation that the platform is years behind ios and android in oz. all I can do is rant while I wait for my 930 to turn up in the next few days.

Unfortunately, Microsoft forgot about the rest of the world and now they are scrambling to get the backend services in place for Bing so they can release Cortana everywhere. Most people forget that Cortana isn't just what you see on your phone, there are a lot of backend services that need to be implemented in other countries to allow the part on your phone to work properly.

Yet in most places they only have basic searches. Here in the UK we have a lot more of Bing services, not all of them, but most of them. Not really concerned about Bing Rewards myself as it isn't essential to use Cortana.

Depends on how well the tech handles accents. US always seems to interpret the English accents as either cockney or the queens English. Its a lot more varied than that. So would be similar for the aussie accent too. These things rarely understand me, I don't think I'll be using cortana in public.

What metric system do you mean? Celsius? We still use Imperial measurements as well as metric for weight, volume, dimensions and miles for distance. And of course have the date format the correct way too.

We just have an older generation who can't let go/succumb to French metric tyranny. So now people in Britain put petrol into their cars in litres, but drive distances in miles, to the supermarket which sells goods in metric, and when they eat it all and get fat they weigh themselves in stones. What a mess!

No it's not, it's perfectly understandable if you have grown up with it. We are being forced into the metric world because of European law. I am quite happy to use either and have grown up with both. 25.4 mm is an inch - work in an engineering environment and it's like being bi-lingual. The majority of us are bi-system users here, as easily weighing in pounds and ounces as kilos and grammes. But when it comes to km, that's just nonsense for me. I can gauge a mile or 70 mph, but not the equivalent in km or kph!

The kids of tomorrow are just going metric (I see it in my son's homework) and that's fine but there's still a generation or two of Imperialists. Don't expect KM on road signs any time in the near future.

weighting in pounds ounces or stones.. and they all dont make sense together in more than one dimension. well i am not going to discuss this topic here now.. metric system is the superior system and the whole world knows..

Nah best of both worlds, fahrenheight is difficult in logic, but miles I find much easier to comprehend. Also an easier change to undertake - we'd have to replace every road sign in the UK. We've also got the best plugs. 3-pin is much sturdier, they don't wobble :D

That's why I'm worried as someone in Australia wanting Cortana - the US gets you Fahrenheit and all that other rubbish, but the UK region will probably still leave me with miles when I'm wanting it fully metric.

This amount of time passing between launch in the U.S. and U.K. is perfectly acceptable. Even a month or two longer would still have been fine.
It's other countries that will pose a problem. Finally convincing Germany, and keeping Italy and South Africa on board should also be a top priority... think of this moment again, when we revisit this topic 6 to 12 months from now.